


baby steps

by o0JayWolf0o



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Awkward Romance, Awkwardness, F/F, Fluff, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, Friends to Lovers, Humans In Troll Romances, M/M, Meteorstuck, References to Depression, seriously theres a lot of awkwardness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 08:57:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15793257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/o0JayWolf0o/pseuds/o0JayWolf0o
Summary: Dave can't get out of bed, but that all changes when Karkat is mentioned.





	baby steps

**Author's Note:**

> this has been a wip for a really long time! at first it was a vent fic, but it morphed into a nice ol davekat story. the end is awkward and badly written as is with most other fanfictions i write (i have no fucking idea how to end fanfics) but its all good

\-- tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] \--  
TT: Dave, I do hope you are awake.  
TT: In the case that you are not, I may send Kanaya after you.  
TG: relax im up  
TG: what do you want  
TT: I believe it to be in your best interest if you are to escort yourself to the common room.  
TG: why  
TT: Do I need an explanation?  
TT: We all know you have nothing better to do.  
TG: maybe i do  
TG: i could be creating some phat beats right now rose  
TG: scratchin that disc  
TG: turning the tables  
TG: mixing the music  
TT: But you aren’t, are you?  
TG: you got me  
TG: why do i have to though  
TG: i dont want to  
TT: And why is that?  
TG: can i not just say no  
TG: as you said Do I need an explanation?  
TT: Dave.  
TT: As someone once said, be there or be square.  
TG: no i dont have to  
TT: Fine.  
TT: Karkat wants to talk to you.  
TT: Or, as he put it, “HANG OUT WITH A BRO.”  
TG: okay ill go  
TG: but why didnt he just message me himself  
TT: I suppose you’ll have to find that out yourself.  
TT: Interesting, though, that you so quickly changed your mind when Karkat became part of the equation.  
TG: its not karkat its just that i have a reason that isnt vriska wanting to train us or some shit  
TG: anyway im gone  
TT: Shame. I was hoping to discuss more about your relationship with him.  
TG: theres nothing going on there though  
TG: were just two bros yknow  
TG: chillin out  
TT: If you say so.  
TT: Go on, now. Wouldn’t want to keep him waiting any longer than you have.  
\-- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] \--

Dave rose from his bed, dragging a calloused hand over his face. He wanted to lay in bed all day, not drag himself to the common room. However, the idea of hanging out with Karkat lingered in his head. Perhaps Karkat could make him feel better.

Decided, he swung his legs over the side of his bed and slid his feet slowly into his metal shoes. Whose idea was it to make metal shoes? And why were they so light? Shaking the thought from his head, he walked lazily through the maze of hallways and stepped on the transportalizer that led to the common room.

After his vision no longer swarmed of white, he turned around and was greeted with the sight of Karkat on his strange, insectoid “palmhusk” sitting on the couch. The troll looked up, his shoulders sagging with relief. “Hey, asshole,” he greeted, decaptchaloguing his computer.

“Yo,” Dave replied, hauling himself onto the couch next to the troll. “What’s a bro doin’?” he asks.

Karkat shrugged half-heartedly. “You’ve been holed up in that disastrous excuse for a room, so I thought I’d give you a reason to leave.” For some reason, his tone was softer than usual, but it still held the texture of gravel and the volume of a 6-year-old getting candy. He seemed like he had more to say, but he turned his attention to the husktop instead. Dave noted this.

“I wasn’t in there for _that_ long,” Dave protested.

Karkat side-eyed him. “Sure, we’ll say that.”

Dave inched closer to him, his eyebrows meeting. “What? I’m for real, man. It was like, maybe a day, or two.”

This time, Karkat turned his whole body toward him. “You’re kidding, right? You haven’t left your room in a week, tops, Dave. I’m starting to think you were given the wrong aspect,” he added to himself.

Dave looked down. That couldn’t be right.

“Anyway, I thought we’d watch the human version of _The Room_ to get you talking again. Even I can agree it’s a horrible movie, and not even _Alternia_ could fix it,” he muttered. Once he clicked on the movie, he laid back and waited for it to begin.

Dave mimicked this, toying with the frilled part of his hood as it began. At first, he didn’t talk, just thought about the last few days, or, as Karkat had put it, last week. It had been empty, really.

He’d stayed in his room and slept, thought about Karkat, the end of the game, or how John must be doing. Mostly, he sat around, finding something to entertain him, or slept.

It was... kind of sad.

When a scene began to interest him, he fixated on the movie, becoming more vocal. “Oh, come on, don’t say that,” he murmured, his first words since the movie had begun. Karkat had perked up and then abruptly tried to hide it. Dave saw, though. He noted that, too. Why was Karkat acting so weird? ...Why was _he_ acting so weird?

Shaking off the thought, he began to complain about the movie until Karkat had to pause it in order for them to not miss anything. “What kind of asshole would cheat with your best friend’s fucking wife? And why did Tommy give her a second chance! Lisa didn’t give a _shit_ about Tommy, anyway, until he fucking killed himself! Y’know, I’m not even complaining about the plot anymore, the acting in this is so _fucking_ bad. My movie is better than this, and it’s worse than the graphics on a Nintendo. Actually, I take that back, my movie is awesome.”

“Saying your movie is better than _that_ is an insult to the film industry across all cultures _._ I don’t know what you’re fucking going on about, because as bad as _The Room_ is, your ‘movie’—if it can even be called that—is possibly the worst thing any living or inanimate being could ever have the displeasure of experiencing.”

Dave laid back. “Okay, whatever, we’re not talking about that. Everyone in this movie should be fined $500 for making me watch this with my own two eyeballs. Actually, this is the third time I’ve watched it, so make that $1500.” With nothing left to say, Karkat continued what little was left of the movie.

Dave now kept to little remarks, like “asshole,” or “dumbass!” instead of going on long, angry tangents much like Karkat. When the credits began to roll, Dave almost wanted to deny the notion that he’d gotten a lot closer to Karkat.

Because it wasn’t important. _All bros sit by to their bros. It doesn’t matter what distance it is. Nothing going on here_ , he told himself. His palms were sweaty.

Karkat put on another movie. It was vaguely familiar, but Dave couldn’t remember the name, and he didn’t particularly care of it. He again became verbal during the parts that he thought were cringey or laughed at how shitty the directing was, but this time, he had a distraction, and it wasn’t from his own head.

He was sitting close to Karkat, so close their shoulders and knees lightly brushed against each other. They had done this for over a year now, so why did Dave suddenly care?

When Karkat leaned in, admiring the movie, Dave did, too. He convinced himself that he, too, was invested in the plot. The truth was far from it, though.

Dave stopped watching the movie a third of the way in, instead angling his eyes to stare at Karkat. The troll was blushing profusely, but Dave wasn’t sure why. He took a moment to look back at the scene.

Oh. Smut.

Dave’s cheeks had been dusted, but it again wasn’t because of the movie. If Karkat noticed, he said nothing. As time passed and the movie neared an end, Dave slung his arms over the back of the couch.

He could rest his arm on Karkat’s shoulders.

...but he didn’t. In fact, he beat himself up over the thought. _Not even best friends do that,_ he thought at first. Then, he changed his mind. _Surely they do, though. I’m not gay. I’m_ not. _Karkat is probably thinking the same thing!_ he reasoned.

When the credits rose, Dave took the opportunity to stand up and stretch. “Right. That was rad,” he said, thinking over a better excuse to leave. “Uh, but. I’m gonna go, I think. Tired, and stuff,” he mumbled.

“Oh. Um, okay..?” Karkat said, confused. He sat up on the couch, closing his husktop. Dave idled as if he had more to say, then left, keeping his gait casual even though his mind was racing at a million miles an hour.

When he arrived at his room on autopilot, he ran a hand through his hair. What was this? Why had he been thinking of Karkat so often, and why, when he did, did he think about his features? Why did he want to sling an arm over his shoulders during the movie? Why did he sit so close?

Dave shook his head. _I need to talk to Rose._ But then he had a change of heart. If he talked to Rose, he’s sure she’d make fun of him. He would talk to Karkat, but... that really wasn’t an option here, was it?

Or was it?

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] \--  
TG: hey  
TG: you know how youre gay  
TG: or bi whatever  
CG: YEAH? WHAT DOES IT MATTER?  
TG: how do you know if you like another guy

Dave wanted to smack himself in the head at that. Karkat was going to figure out. No, Karkat already knew. Who opens up to their best friend after acting weird and asks if you like their gender? But then Dave reasoned. There was nothing to figure out because Dave wasn’t gay. He really wasn’t. He was just curious. He _had_ asked this before, anyway, when they first learned trolls were bisexual.

TG: asking for a friend  
CG: DAVE, THE ONLY FRIEND YOU HAVE ON THIS ROCK IS ME. AND TEREZI. BUT TEREZI IS AFTER VRISKA, AND YOU HAVEN’T TALKED TO EITHER OF THEM IN WEEKS.  
TG: hey man you never know  
CG: RIGHT.  
CG: THIS IS A REALLY DUMB QUESTION, YOU KNOW.  
CG: IT’S NO DIFFERENT FROM A GUY LIKING A GIRL, OR VICE VERSA. YOU HAVE THE SAME FEELINGS, BUT IT’S JUST A DIFFERENT GENDER.  
CG: REALLY, I DON’T KNOW WHY HUMANS EVEN HAVE TERMINOLOGY FOR WHAT GENDER YOU LIKE! IT’S DUMBER THAN A FUCKING AMPORA. JUST DATE WHOEVER YOU WANT.  
CG: ALSO, THIS IS A REALLY GOOD TIME FOR ME TO ASK WHY YOU’RE SO ADAMANT ON NOT BEING PERCEIVED AS “GAY” WHEN IT REALLY DOESN’T MATTER.  
TG: hey thats not what this conversation is about  
TG: but anyway i guess that makes sense  
TG: that was a pretty fucking stupid question too youre right  
TG: cant be ruining my rep with that kind of idiocy  
CG: DAVE, IN MY EYES, YOU’VE NEVER HAD A DAMN “REP”. AND YOU’VE NEVER BEEN COOL, EITHER, SO DROP THE ACT.  
CG: REALLY, THOUGH, I DON’T CARE WHY YOU WANT TO KNOW.  
TG: yeah because any excuse to talk about romance is a good one to you huh  
TG: also fuck you im cooler than the winter solstice in antarctica  
TG: my chill is unbreakable  
CG: I HAVE FIRST-HANDEDLY WITNESSED YOUR SUPPOSED “COOL” AND “CHILL”  
CG: TO BE BLUNT, IT’S SMALLER THAN MY PATIENCE WITH YOU.  
TG: ouch

Dave put the phone down for a moment, rubbing his eyes. Right. He needed a nap. He sent a quick ‘Night’ to Karkat before captchaloguing his phone and hopping into bed.

When he laid, still clad in his clothes sans the shoes, he let his mind wander. There wasn’t much to think about outside of the game that he _wanted_ to think about, but eventually (and inevitably), his thoughts drifted to the one and only.

Dave didn’t want to think about Karkat. When he did, he scrunched up his face and rolled over, nuzzling his pillow in hopes of his thoughts changing.

For a brief time, they did.

And then they didn’t.

He couldn’t stop thinking about Karkat. He was just.. _different,_ in a way that no one else was. Karkat had never scared Dave. Rose, Kanaya, Terezi, and Vriska, though, had all had their run-ins with making Dave jump. Usually, it was because they were quiet, something Karkat repelled quite easily.

[[drawing of Dave thinking of Karkat]](http://o0jaywolf0o.tumblr.com/image/177379768173)

When he finally fell asleep, it was to some ridiculous thought. He didn’t bother trying to remember it, as was with a scattered, strange dream he had.

About a week later, he was sat with Rose and Kanaya having freshly alchemized eggs and bacon. They had decided to sit in Can Town so the Mayor could chip in if he wanted.

“So, tell me again what you’ve been on about?” Rose said, bringing out a notepad. At this point, Dave was too tired to complain. If she wanted to log his life, then so be it.

“Look, I’ve just been thinking a lot. Nothing special,” Dave said.

Rose raised an eyebrow, leaning back in her chair. “Yes, I believe that much is apparent when you come to me confessing your undying love for your friend of two years.”

Dave blushed profusely. “I don’t _love_ him, okay? I just...” he trailed off, racking his brain for any excuse. “I just think a little differently about him now, you know? We’re bros being bros, but like... Our bro-ship is more...”

Kanaya set down her fork and leaned her head in her hands. “Dave, I believe you’re trying to tell us you’re in _love_ with your ‘bro’. After all, that is how I would describe my and Rose’s feelings toward each other.” They shot each other a quick, loving glance before settling their eyes on Dave. “In any case, I am almost _certain_ he returns your feelings.”

The sound of loud footsteps turning the corner dried anything Dave was going to say out of his mouth. Karkat. “Dave, have you seen my–” he began, before examining the situation. Rose took one long, hard look at Karkat before standing up.

“It appears you are now occupied, Dave,” Rose said with a smile so devious.

“You can stay, Rose. I’m not–”

But Rose had already offered her hand to Kanaya and was leaving the room. As she passed Karkat, she gave him a glance like no other, almost as if she knew what was about to happen between the two boys.

Karkat trailed in awkwardly after the girls’ departure, sitting where they had. “What was that hoofbeastshit about?” he asked, staring down at the two plates Rose and Kanaya had left. There were still 2 pieces of bacon and an egg left intact, so Karkat helped himself.

“Dunno, man. One second I was sitting here enjoying a place of bacon and eggs, and the next, they're talking about their undying love for each other. Shit’s mad. Right in front of me, man. Couldn’t handle leaving the premises before mackin’ on each other, you know?”

Karkat rolled his eyes. “I call BS on that.” He looked Dave up and down. “Yeah, there’s no fucking way in all of paradox space you’re not hiding some dumb shit from me right now. Go on, spit it out, we know you will anyway,” Karkat sighed.

“Uh..” Dave mumbled, lost. _What do I say? No, there’s nothing to say, because... Shit, I can’t go down that route again._ Dave knew he liked Karkat. He wouldn’t go as far as saying he _loved_ him, but he knew there was something there. He just was terrified of rejection.

Karkat was fidgeting with his food. “You know I was kidding. If you don’t want to, then that’s your problem,” he murmured, staring at his plate. Suddenly, they had both lost their appetite.

“No–look, man..” Dave began, trailing off yet again at a loss of words. He wanted Karkat to know, but he didn’t know what to say. He wished his phone would go off or _something_ , but nothing happened sans the stare Karkat bore into him. He ran a hand through his hair, racking his mind for something, anything to say that wasn’t dumb. “I..”

Karkat perked up. “Hm?” he said, both mocking and curious.

Dave’s cheeks were dusted a bright pink, and Karkat had most definitely noticed. However, he didn’t say anything, as Karkat was in no different situation.

 _Ugh, just fucking say it!_ Dave thought. “I–I like you,” Dave said, just barely above a whisper.

“Huh?” Karkat grumbled.

“I like you!” Dave said loudly before burying his face in his hands and groaning. “Wow, I _really_ couldn’t have said that in a more middle-schooleresque way, huh?” he complained. “Seriously. What was that? ‘I like you’? Really, Dave?” Dave muttered to himself.

“Dave, shut the fuck up,” Karkat said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Dave looked up. Karkat was looking at Dave’s knees, biting the inside of his lip. “I like you, too.”

“In fact, I know what you guys were talking about. I just wanted to hear it from you, I guess,” Karkat confessed. “I was standing by that corner.”

Dave felt like he was melting. _Oh, shit. He likes me. Damn. Okay. Yeah._ His brain was moving at a million miles an hour. “So..”

Karkat made eye contact with Dave. “Do we...” Dave said, tilting his head.

A smirk graced Karkat’s face. “What, do we kiss now?” he said. “We’re not wrigglers, Dave, you can just say it. Actually, that whole confession thing we did was kind of pathetic,” Karkat admitted.

Dave chuckled. “Yeah, really, I don’t know what went through me.” They fell silent again. “So, how do we..”

Karkat shrugged. “Have you never kissed anyone?”

Dave shook his head, slowly. “No. I used to brag about how many girls were into me, but.. no.”

Karkat raised his eyebrows. “Not even Terezi?”

Dave grimaced. “No. You?”

“Not counting a dead body, no.”

“Ugh, I forgot about that,” Dave said.

“How about we just.. On the count of three?” Karkat suggested.

Dave nodded, thinking it was a rational idea before the weight hit him. He was about to kiss Karkat.

His blush returned full flush. “Three.. Two..” Dave’s hands were sweatier than before. “One.”

They both leaned in cautiously as to not let their noses bump. Dave forgot to breathe when their lips connected, and when they did, it felt like everything around them had gone. Karkat was the whole world.

It really was like he was in a movie. He was almost sad when they pulled apart, both red and embarrassed and breathless. Dave doesn’t think he could handle another kiss.

Instead, afterward, he resorted to holding Karkat’s hand while they engaged in awkward conversation.

Karkat jumped slightly. “I forgot the Mayor was here.”

Dave slapped his hand to his forehead. “Shit, he totally just watched us act like babies for 10 minutes, didn’t he?”

Karkat laughed. The Mayor waved, his eyes creased in a way that only radiated jolliness.

The three of them moved on to working on Can Town, Dave and Karkat trying to inch closer to each other in the process. Every time they’d get distracted holding each other’s hands, the Mayor would set them back on track. ‘I’m glad you two are happy, but the fate of Can Town is important!’ he’d said calmly. ‘However, I will not stop these strange shenanigans between you both.’

And that was how it was. When they watched movies, they would forget it was playing and be too busy cuddling to focus on the screen. When they were with Terezi and Vriska, it was all they could do to resist saying something embarrassing in front of the two. In front of Rose and Kanaya, they were a lovey-dovey sort, almost as much as Rose and Kanaya. When they were alone, they didn’t speak but would lay for hours with each other, doing nothing but cuddling and kissing until their skin was as bright as Kanaya’s.

In the end, it all worked out. And Dave was happy that he’d done things the childish way, even if in that moment, it had been embarrassing as hell. He didn’t want to lay in bed all day anymore, because he had the day to look forward to. It was almost as if depression had been beaten.

Baby steps, he told himself. Baby steps.

**Author's Note:**

> if u want to then kudos are rad and so are comments! ty   
>  [ tumblr ](https://o0jaywolf0o.tumblr.com)


End file.
